When rows and rows of planes are lined up at an airport, they tend to look a bit samey.

Airlines know this - so now and again they'll give one of their aircraft a wacky paint job to help it stand out from the crowd.

Sometimes it's for an advert, sometimes it's to highlight a good cause - and sometimes it's just for fun.

For example, Embraer recently unveiled an aircraft with a shark's face across the nose and another with a tiger paint job, while China Eastern Airways has a plane with Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story splashed across the side.

Previously, Air France allowed one of its Concordes to be decked out in a special Pepsi livery, while the now-defunct Western Pacific Airlines chose cartoon stars The Simpsons to adorn the side of one of its aircraft.

Scroll down to see some of the most colourful designs to take to the skies...

In 1996, Pepsi struck a deal with Air France to deck one of its Concorde aircraft with the soft drink branding. The vibrant blue livery only lasted for 16 chartered flights before the aircraft returned to its regular schedule in its old white livery. It was never disclosed how much Pepsi paid for the livery

The now-defunct Western Pacific Airlines allowed one of its Boeing 737-300s to be used in an advertising campaign for Fox Television in the early 90s. And the TV network chose cartoon stars The Simpsons to adorn the side of the plane. Mum Marge occupies the back of the plane as the tail was the only place big enough for her huge hair

Aircraft manufacturer Embraer created a shark-themed livery on one of its new E190-E2 jets in 2018

Embraer has also given one of its E190-E2 jets an amazing tiger livery. The front of the cat's face covers the nose of the plane

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In December 2018, Air Astana, the flag carrier of the Republic of Kazakhstan, unveiled a new addition to its fleet – an Embraer 190-E2 with a snow leopard's snout painted on its nose

In September 2018, China's Sichuan Airlines unveiled a panda-themed plane that flies on the carrier's so-called panda route between Beijing and Chengdu. The Airbus A350 features a giant panda on the side of the plane and in the cabin, passengers are served panda-themed food

Tawainese airline Eva Air celebrated the 40th birthday of iconic cartoon character Hello Kitty by creating a special Hello Kitty themed aircraft. The Boeing 777 was adorned with a colourful livery featuring the cat while the cabin featured an array of cute features, such as decorated head rest covers and pillows for cat naps

Nok Air is a low-cost carrier that operates domestic services in Thailand with the word Nok meaning bird in Thai. Therefore it is no surprise that the airline has a Boeing 737 in its fleet with a bird-like livery

German airline TUIFly previously transformed two of its Boeing 737 aircraft with a colourful livery based on Haribo sweets. Haribo is also based in Germany

China Eastern Airways allows passengers to fly with Buzz Lightyear himself on a special Toy Story plane. The exterior features a huge mural of the most well-known characters, including Buzz and Woody. The plane was commissioned to fly the airline's route between Beijing and Shanghai to mark the opening of the new Toy Story Land at the Shanghai Disney Resort in 2018

The Airbus BelugaXL cargo plane was given a paint job to match its name - the face of a whale. The new BelugaXL launched in 2018 and is six metres longer and one metre wider than the BelugaST transporter it is replacing. It can also carry six more tonnes in weight

In December 2018, Airbus unveiled an A380 model featuring the face of a turtle. The aircraft was made for Japanese-based All Nippon Airways and will go into service in Spring 2019. The design is inspired by Hawaii and the aircraft will fly the route between Tokyo and Honolulu

A pair of Qantas aircraft stand side by side with aboriginal-inspired liveries. The designs are to honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

In 2015, two Emirates A380s were given new paint jobs to highlight the plight of species whose existence is threatened by poaching and the illegal wildlife trade